Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,186

Greg shook her hand. His head was spinning. How had this happened so fast? “We will need to have your final licensing certification by March.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I understand.”

“Very good. Well, welcome to the University team.”

The good news was Taylor had thought she could use the new laptop to write her paper. The bad news was, she very quickly realized she had no idea how to set the thing up properly. She didn’t have time to fight that battle, and she knew she was running out of time to use Greg’s. So at four, she got his going and started to work. She didn’t move from the spot for another four-and-a-half hours although she heard through her closed door people come and go several times. This was important, and besides, the less face-time she had with any of them, the better.

Everyone in the radiology department had been stoked about Greg’s promotion. He was too, so long as he didn’t think about the looming certification test. When he got home, he found Nelson in the kitchen alone studying.

“You the only one home?” Greg asked in concern. Taylor’s car was out front, so that would be weird for her not to be here.

“I think Tay’s back in your room, but she hasn’t been out all night.”

That worried Greg, and he quickly grabbed some water and headed back to the room. “Knock. Knock.”

“Come in,” she said, but her voice was quiet and subdued.

“Hey,” he said, coming in and leaning on the wall there as he took a drink.

“Oh, hey,” she said like she’d just been caught up in a whirlwind. She cut the music which was a mix of a girl singing and a cello or violin, he wasn’t sure which. Taylor didn’t even really look up. Her gaze was practically glued to the screen. “Sorry. You can have this. I was just about finished.”

“What’re you working on?” he asked, never moving, and his gaze chanced down to the floor where a box, wrapping, and a new laptop lay.

“Oh, just the cinema paper. Sorry.” She snapped the laptop closed and laid it on the edge of the bed, never looking up at him. “It’s all yours.”

He glanced down at the little pile on the floor again, and a horrible thought of her with Ryan at the electronics store zipped through him. “So you got the new laptop huh?”

Standing, she went to the desk and flipped through her stats book. “Yeah.”

Greg tried to piece everything together or figure out how to ask. The whole thing felt like a minefield. “You didn’t want to use it instead?”

“Hm. I…” But that was all she said.

As his mind tried to figure it out, he remembered her saying she didn’t know much about computers. That was why Ryan had offered to go with her in the first place. Greg looked down at the laptop. “You mind if I…?”

She only turned a bit, caught the inflection of his gaze, and shrugged. “Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s cool.”

He set the glass on the dresser and picked up the laptop before going around and sitting on the bed. He opened it and checked the parameters. “Looks like you got a good one.”

“Oh.” She nodded but said no more.

“So you didn’t set it up yet?” he asked, and from his proximity four feet from her, he felt the air evaporate from around her.

“Oh, you know, I…” She shrugged but said no more.

“You want me to do it?” he asked carefully. He knew now what she wasn’t saying.

“Oh, gosh. No. You don’t have to. I know you’ve got stuff…”

“I don’t mind.”

“I mean, well, if… That’s… It’s fine with me if…”

Greg hit a button and started it up, making sure to keep his eyes on the screen. “So, I’ve got news.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

He really wished she would turn around so this felt a little more normal, but it was what it was. “They called me in today about the tech position.”

At that, she spun, and excitement was in her eyes as she leaned on the desk. “Really?”

Keeping his eyes on the screen, he nodded. “Yep. I start training tomorrow.”

Unforeseen, unmitigated joy leaped through her. “Oh, wow, Greg! That’s amazing!” Just like that, she went over and bounced onto the bed next to him. She threw her arms around him and hugged him to her. “Congratulations! That is so awesome!”

“Thanks,” he said though his voice didn’t rise to the occasion.

Worry for him seeped through the joy. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”

“I am, but